BRIEFING Net migration to the UK AUTHORS: Madeleine Sumption Peter William Walsh Ben Brindle PUBLISHED: 0 4/06/2024 NEXT UPDATE: 01/12/2024 www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk BRIEFING: Net migration to the UK This briefing covers the scale of immigration and net migration in the UK since the early 2000s and under the post-Brexit immigration system. [...] For more discussion of the economic impacts of migration, see the Migration Observatory briefings, The Fiscal Impacts of Immigration in the UK, and The Labour Market Effects of Immigration. [...] Figure 3 More information on the drivers of work and student migration is available in the Migration Observatory briefings, Work visas and migrant workers in the UK and Student migration to the UK. [...] Possible explanations for this decline include the economic recovery in southern European countries following the Eurozone crisis; the decline in the value of the pound after the referendum, which made work in the UK less attractive; and uncertainty about the political climate. [...] More detail on how EU net migration has changed following the Brexit referendum and COVID-19 pandemic can be found in the Migration Observatory briefing EU Migration to and from the UK, and the impacts of lower EU net migration in the labour market are discussed in the Migration Observatory report, How is the End of Free Movement Affecting the Low-Wage Labour Force in the UK? Projections of future.
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Table of Contents
- AUTHORS Madeleine Sumption 1
- Peter William Walsh Ben Brindle 1
- PUBLISHED 04062024 NEXT UPDATE 01122024 1
- BRIEFING 2
- Net migration to the UK 2
- Key Points 2
- The UK has experienced broadly similar levels of migration compared to other high-income countries on average over the past few decades. 2
- Projections of future net migration are inherently uncertain. In the past 20 years official projections have usually underestimated future net migration levels. 2
- This briefing covers the scale of immigration and net migration in the UK since the early 2000s and under the post-Brexit immigration system. 2
- Understanding the policy 2
- BRIEFING 3
- Net migration to the UK 3
- Understanding the evidence 3
- BRIEFING 4
- Net migration to the UK 4
- BRIEFING 5
- Net migration to the UK 5
- The UK has experienced broadly similar levels of migration compared to other high-income countries on average over the past few decades 5
- BRIEFING 6
- Net migration to the UK 6
- Net migration was unusually high in 2023 driven primarily by high demand for workers in the health and care sector and an increase in international student numbers 6
- BRIEFING 7
- Net migration to the UK 7
- BRIEFING 8
- Net migration to the UK 8
- Rising emigration may put downward pressure on net migration from 2024 onwards 8
- BRIEFING 9
- Net migration to the UK 9
- Net migration of EU citizens was negative in 2023 9
- BRIEFING 10
- Net migration to the UK 10
- Projections of future net migration are inherently uncertain 10
- BRIEFING 11
- Net migration to the UK 11
- Evidence Gaps and Limitations 11
- BRIEFING 12
- Net migration to the UK 12
- Acknowledgements 12
- References 12
- BRIEFING 13
- Net migration to the UK 13
- The Migration Observatory 13
- About the authors 13
- COMPAS 13
- Press contact 13
- Recommended citation 13
